Poetic licence

08/09/2017

The latest cruising news from the Northern Hemisphere and the world.

08 Sep 2017

Poetic licence

Jack Tar has all the cruising accoutrements

We took a little bit of poetic licence in the boat that wrote the book, which looked at the Treleaven's Beneteau Oceanis 50, Cape Finisterre. This was the one with all the lovely pics of Cape Finisterre, and all the places that the Treleavens had taken her.

However, that is not where the licence came in. Now even though we mentioned her predecessor in the article (Cadiz the Beneteau Oceanis 473), we need to point out that it was that particular vessel that was ‘the boat that did', in terms of ‘Letters from the Med'. Cape Finisterre was the craft that allowed ‘Letters from the Caribbean' to come into being. Of course, the two that made it all happen were Ian and Andrea Treleaven themselves.

Jack Tar under A-Sail

At any rate, Cadiz later made it all the way to Australia on her own hull, after crossing the Atlantic and then the Pacific. Cadiz is now known as Jack Tar, and her fourth owners are very proud of her. The Treleavens were her second custodians, and her third owners did all the work to turn her into a blue water cruiser with watermaker, solar panels, crane for the dinghy and outboard, cockpit navigation instruments, inverter, and so on, as you can see from the pics.

Her present owners have had her for two and half years now, and next year she will go off to Noumea, so Cadiz/Jack Tar is still racking up a few miles. Alas, don't line up looking to buy this particular boat, because her owners are adamant that she is ‘certainly not available for purchase'.

Looking like the world cruiser that she is - Jack Tar

Moving on, and if you read these pages you'll know we love a bit of technology and all the things it can provide for. Now at five and six million quid for the recently announced 835 and 895 models, the new Oysters are not inside everyone's budgets, but when they come standard with North Sails and carbon sticks, you can see that they do indeed command attention. After all, everything has a way of trickling down, eventually!

Equally, even though it is a smaller market the more you go up into rarefied airs, the fact that mainstream builders are now venturing into 60 feet and beyond says a lot. Oyster craft now range from the 475 to the 118, and they have sold six of the new 565s, three of the new 595s and three 675s since this year's Düsseldorf show, alone.

Also interesting is that Oyster reflect on how those craft from the 745 down are family focused, with some having paid hands, whereas the three above (835, 865 and 118) are run by pro crew. However, the really interesting items were in the facts that the composite build, medium displacement and super-comfy craft are out plying the seas – and how!

When the present Oyster World Rally ends in 2019, 100 Oysters (of all descriptions and ages) will have completed circumnavigations, which is a bit under one in five of their total fleet!

Oyster 118 Oyster Yachts

Apart from that, their own figures would suggest that the fleet has amassed some 20 million blue water nautical miles, with many doing over a ton each, and a further, decent chunk in the 40 to 60,000nm bracket. Well that got me paying attention!!! So if you look at it in terms of bang for mile, then the high barrier to entry could well be clocked back to something more palatable, and the terrific resale could help too. Just saying... Plus, a friend was lucky enough to enjoy a delivery through Tahiti and Polynesia on an Oyster 725, and I stopped talking with him about it, so perhaps that speaks in even greater volumes!

The technology of GPS and chartplotters has certainly played its part in the great revolution of heading off to destinations far, far away. However, like anything, they have their limitations. Some are obvious, and some are not so much spoken about. We have countless articles on this site about the times that things went awry. Many are with thanks to Pantaenius Sail and Motor Yacht Insurance, and their clients, for talking about them with us.

“We were very sorry to learn of this unfortunate incident. The Navionics chart of Huahine, is derived from official French Hydrographic Office Charts as well as satellite imagery.”

“Despite our accuracy, charts have errors whether it is a result of survey errors or source errors. This applies to ALL charts, whether government or private, official or otherwise. The International Hydrographic Organization stated that less than 10% of the seas are charted as well as the Moon, and even that 10% contains errors. This is why the common rules of navigation require that skippers, in addition to official charts, use multiple sources of information, including sailing directions, cruising guides, radar, sonar, local diligence and good eyesight.”

“With the best chart in the world, one should never get close to coral reefs at full speed and at night, but rather when the sun is highest, at very slow speed, and with a person on watch on the bow. This is the only way to ensure that breaking waves be spotted from a distance, and that possible uncharted coral heads be avoided.”

Now that's all fine, well, and good, but to be honest, this kind of thing needs a huge red warning akin to the one the Surgeon General has on cigarette packets. ‘The use of this product could be dangerous to one's health or wallet, or both!' Almost reminds one of the old tale. If it looks to good to be true, then probably is... The key always lies in utilising multiple sources, and reliable local knowledge where possible.

OK. Before we get back to the business of newsletters, it seems incredible that after Hurricane Harvey, Irma is now casting her spell over the Caribbean and soon Florida. In direct contrast, we have just published a story about the repairs to a marina at Airlie Beach that was hit hard by Cyclone Debbie back at the end of March.

So whilst the pain of the devastation is real for all, even those well over the other side of the world, perhaps it can serve as a reminder that one can rebuild things, but to look after the humans and animals. Please avail yourself of all the material we have on sail-worldcruising.com and our sister sites, and if you can, get out now!

Plastic free July SV Te Mana

Today you will find that we have tales for you about World ARC, pirates, new J121 short-handed boat, Scotland, Maine, plastics, going sub hunting, running booze, whales, boat shows, Beneteau's Mr Product, ice (the frozen stuff, not the scourge of society), National Parks, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, as well as much more.

So you see, there are tales, lessons, inspirations and history to regale yourself with. Please do enjoy... We're really enjoying bringing you the best stories from all over the globe. Remember too, if you want to see what is happening in the other Hemisphere, go to the top and the drag down menu, select the other half of the globe and, voila, it's all there for you.

Now then, are you out there plying the seas and got something to say? We'd love to hear from you via please email us – In the meantime, do you love being on the ocean? Well remember to love them back too. They need our help. Now more than ever! Until next time...

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